Customer Reviews

A Field Guide to Warblers of North America (Peterson Field Guides)

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The latest addition to the revered Peterson field guide series, A Field Guide to Warblers of North America by Jon L Dunn and Kimball L Garrett is a benchmark in American birding literature. At 660 pages, heavy enough to make your hand cramp up while holding it, this work might be described as a hybrid: too thick and wordy to be a field guide, too clearly written to be an ornithological manual. "Warblers" has combined the best elements of field and academic books; thirty-two excellent plates by Thomas R Schultz and Cindy House which are supplemented with photos, and detailed information on plumages, provide years worth of learning opportunities even for the advanced birder. Discussions of subspecific variations, molt sequences, taxonomic relationships and population and conservation status, along with references for further reading, allow birders to go beyond field identification to an expansive understanding of North America's wood warblers. Even for those warbler-depauperate corners of the country, such as the Pacific Northwest, where eight species of warblers is a good day's haul, this is a worthy investment. Warblers is written by and for information junkies. When you want to check range maps that are larger in scale and more accurate than any seen in field guides of the past, or illustrations and text of Townsend's/Hermit hybrids you'll go for this book. When you want to "really" know something about Yellow Warblers you'll set aside an hour and a half to digest this book's twenty-two pages describing it's plumages, habitats, vocalizations, etc. The range of the plates is no less mind-boggling than the text. The plate illustrating the Orange-crowned Warbler has ten full-body illustrations and two head-only illustrations: adult males of four races, four first-fall male and female variations, and two juveniles of different races. Yellow-rumped Warblers are given their own plate with twelve full illustrations and five partials to show gender, age and race differences. I've always thought that some of the best information in bird books is in the preface, introduction and appendixes. Many people skip over these portions when appraising a work but a thorough read of the introduction gives one the framework in which to understand much of what follows. The appendixes and various "add-ons" at the end of the book suggest ways in which you can further explore the subject if you're interested. The introduction to Warblers discusses characteristics of the warbler genera, speciation and hybridization, geographical variation, plumages and molts, habitats, foraging habits, vocalizations, breeding biology, migration and conservation issues. The appendixes contain a glossary with a separate section for geographical terms, useful for a book which goes into such detail regarding distribution and a twenty-seven page list of references. Warblers is one of those books that threatens to make a couch birder out of you. Don't be too tempted though; buy this book and study it well, but use that information in the real world outside your four walls, and bring what you see with your own eyes together with the knowledge you've gleaned from Warblers. Your understanding and appreciation of this diverse and fascinating family will be richer for it.

Several years ago, while watching the bird feeders at Muskatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Seymour, Indiana, I heard a voice behind me pointing out that there were two races of White-crowned Sparrow at the feeder. He went into detail about the subtle differences between the two. At first I thought to myself, who is this guy? Later, I realized that it was Jon Dunn! I have had a high respect for him ever since.
Years later, he was the guest speaker at our bird club meeting. He presented some of the plates from his, at the time, upcoming new field guide to warblers. I fell in love with the plates from the very start. Thomas R. Shultz and Cindy House did a remarkable job, and the detail that was carefully gathered from museum specimens is second to none. I knew from the beginning that I had to have this new field guide and I couldn't wait until it appeared on the shelves.
When I bought my copy of the finished product, it was even more than I expected. Aside from the detailed plates making fall and female warbler identification easier, the text is filled with information on virtually every aspect of life history of each species, with cross-references that will aid any serious researcher. More than just a field guide for identification purposes, this book belongs on the shelf of beginners and experts alike who share a passion for warblers.

Dunn & Garrett have put together an exhaustive and educational treatment of warblers found in North America. It is guaranteed to be the standard text covering this family of birds. Its plates are beautiful and instructive, its text thorough and useful. Plates 31 and 32, which give show the undersides of the tails of all North American warblers, are worth the price of the book alone. If you are a serious birder or a backyard birdwatcher, you won't be disappointed to have this book around.

I have been a bird-watcher (not a "birder," a term I find too trendy) since 1961, and have loved warblers perhaps more than any other group of avian friends. Spring each year means for me the delight of finding warblers--most of which are only transient visitors to the area where I have lived most of my life (the Middle Atlantic region). Thus, when I learned about this new Peterson's guide in Bird Watcher's Digest recently, I jumped at the chance to acquire it and improve my knowledge base. I had previously found the Peterson guides on "Hawks" and "Advanced Birding" especially helpful, and had used an old edition of Roger Tory Peterson's "Field Guide to the Birds" when I first learned about birds in the field. This field guide is quite unlike anything else in the Peterson series in appearance and content. It offers a great deal of specialized information, including very useful range maps (quite detailed), illustrations of each warbler species in a variety of plumages (not by RTP, but his successors are quite worthy), great photos interspersed in the text, and a vast amount of detail about habits, songs, range, current ecological status, and more than most people would ever want to know about subspecies. So the book does add a great deal to the knowledge base of even an experienced old timer like me. What I miss in this volume, however, is the spirit of (for want of a better word) "fun" or enjoyment of the subject. This volume lacks the poetry of A.C. Bent, Frank Chapman, or Hal Harrison, in their excellent books on warblers. All in all, though, few bird-watchers these days seem to be as interested in enjoyment of individual birds as they used to--perhaps a price paid for the increasing popularization of ornithology as a hobby--and even for some, a sport. This seems a volume written by and intended for people who are ornithologists in the scientific sense of the word. It would be extremely useful for bird-banders, who need to "age" and "sex" a bird in the field, for example. The rest of us can get something out of the new field guide, but I doubt that I would carry it along on a bird walk--the data are more than I need when I am in the field. It will continue to fascinate me as I leaf through it, however. And for anyone who enjoys warblers, this is a "must" to own.

Kimball Garrett and Jon Dunn worked together once again to produce a masterpiece. The information on status and distribution is remarkably accurate given the exceptional detail in which it is presented. The identification discussion is thorough and accurate. The discussion of subspecies, their taxonomy, and their identification (as is possible) is remarkable. The books only failing are the illustrations, which are flat and unrealistic for the most part. Their usefulness is limited.

This book provides good color plates of the warblers in various stages of plummage. The distribution maps are easy to read and color coded. I bought the book because of the multiple pages of natural history information on each species. The birding guide I use in the field has excellent illustrations but totally lacks in the supplemental information. So, when I get home, I grab this book to learn the biology of the species.

This book is much more than just a field guide to the warblers. It contains a wealth of information on identification, but it also functions as a summary of the scientific literature on the ecology of each species, complete with references to the primary literature. This guide is a great way to not only get more serious as a birdwatcher, but also to help this interest develop into an interest in and understanding of ecology.

As a field guide, this book is exhaustive and excellent. The illustrations are extremely clear, and there are distinct illustrations of different sexes, ages, and plumages (fall/spring) whenever these plumages are distinct. In addition to the illustrations of perched birds, there are also excellent illustrations of undertail patterns, which are very important and useful. Throughout the text as well, there are a number of detailed color photos. Visually, this guide has it all! The range maps are large and clear, although I wish that the range maps would mark migration paths more clearly.

The expanded chapters on each species are outstanding. While some of this information, especially the plumages, range, song, habitat, and behavior, would be interesting and useful to birders, this book goes above and beyond by discussing in depth the ecology of each species, taxonomy, and conservation status. The writing is clear and concise, and there are numerous references to the primary literature as starting points for people who are interested in further reading.

Bottom line? If you like warblers, you have to get this book! You will not be disappointed.

This is a great reference for those looking to id warblers specifically. Great images and helpful tips. I keep this handy with my other bird id books since I'm not very good at warblers yet

Along with the Stokes warbler guide this is a great piece. Tons of info and very deep. If you are a casual birder, this is not really for you. The only downside is I believe that this is out of print and harder to come by. My copy is a few years old and I just purchased it. The binding is coming apart a little, but otherwise it's a great volume.

Thirty-six species of warblers have been reported in my local area by reliable sources. I have seen and photographed 28 of the locally seen warbler species, and this Peterson Field Guide has proved to be a very valuable reference, especially when considering variable species plumage as a function of maturity, gender, and season.

I usually go to the plates first, and then read the related text. The only complaint I have is that the plates are not in alphabetical order by species, and if I am trying to match a warbler I have seen to the plate drawings, and have an idea as to what species it might be, I have to either hunt through the plates or look up the plate number in the index - a small complaint relative to the excellent information. I only had one instance where this reference led me to the wrong identification because of it stated that a complete eye-ring was a key field mark and did not state that a partial eye-ring was a possibility (female Common Yellowthroat p.513).


I highly recommend this guide for serious birders.

Marshall Faintich, author of "A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Wintergreen."